


why does it always start with detention?

by Gracerr5



Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: Detention, F/F, alex is a dick in this sorry, background gertchase, head cheerleader nico, just a story about a useless lesbian and her useless bisexual, no powers or staff or dinosaur but allusions to those, protective karolina, soft butch karolina
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-03-10 22:26:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13511019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gracerr5/pseuds/Gracerr5
Summary: head cheerleader nico and soft butch karolina au meet in detention.http://dimplesridley.tumblr.com/post/170045319519/cheerleadernico-soft-butchkarolina-auJust read this and you'll understand.(extra special thanks to @dimplesridley and @thedisassociation on Tumblr for letting me take their idea and run with it)





	1. It starts in detention. Because where else could it possibly start?

**Author's Note:**

> So Alex is a bit asshole-ish in this. Sorry to all the Alex defenders. This is not commentary about how he actually acts in the show or anything, just a cheap writer trick to push Nico closer to Karolina. So um... please don't come for me. Also, the personalities are gonna be a little distorted in this au because of the stereotypes but I'm gonna hopefully keep their core traits.

**Nico was not having a good day**. She had been tired all day yesterday due to a particularly stressful cheer practice. The only thing she was looking forward to was the romantic date her boyfriend Alex had said he planned for her. He canceled last minute, saying that he wasn't "on top of his homework." Well, he might not have been on top of his homework, but he was certainly on top of Eiffel, one of her fellow cheerleaders, as proved by the many, many videos she found on the internet. Apparently, Alex conveniently forgot to mention that his homework was being done at the track party Nico wasn't invited to and the only thing he could've possibly been studying was the anatomy of the female human's mouth.

That is why she was perfectly justified in storming up to Alex and interrupting him while he was talking with his "bros" to interrogate him about last night. And also why she was perfectly justified in screwing off the lid of a slushie she had just bought (grape. his least favorite flavor.) and poured it all over him and his stupidly charming face when he just shrugged and smiled. His Apple Watch was just an unfortunate casualty that she hadn't taken into account; it wasn't her fault that his family was rich. Apparently, Atlas Academy's principal didn't really agree with her logic and she got three detentions. Which was totally unfair because that meant less time she could be helping her squad with their routines and that meant more time Eiffel would get to take charge.

For a second, she wished that she could control the deep rage that boiled inside of her. And then she remembered the purple dye seeping into his blue polo shirt. The rage no longer bothered her as much.

 **Karolina's day had been pretty ok.** At lunch, her school Gay-Straight Alliance, which she was proudly president of, had had an emergency meeting. Well... pretty much every lunch was already a meeting because the club's only members were her and her best friend (and vice president) Gert Yorkes, with the occasional guest appearance of Molly and Gert's boyfriend Chase. Karolina didn't mind in the slightest, Gert could talk for hours about how damaging a heteronormative society is and Karolina loved to go off about cute queer couples in real life and tv shows. Plus, she didn't really connect with other people. They didn't "get" her and she couldn't be bothered with trying to explain.

Unfortunately, her day took a nasty turn when her history teacher began talking about the Woman's Suffrage Movement. She had been barely paying attention as she'd heard it all from Gert before. Instead, she was mindlessly tracing the small tattoo she had gotten over the summer. It was by the hem of her black t-shirt, towards her right hip, and it was a small cluster of colors that formed a rainbow-esque patch. She had gotten it partially for pride but also partially because she thought the color patterns looked really cool on her skin. As she traced mindless shapes onto the tattoo with her finger, she heard something that made her tune back into class.

"...and because of this, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the Seneca Falls Convention, where two hundred women showed their support for Women's Suffrage. Clearly, it was _that time of the month_ for most of them when they decided to rip down the stable social structure that had been working so far, but..."

"Excuse me?" Karolina called out, Gert looking as angry as Karolina felt. Many of the other female students looked shocked as well, but nobody looked even close to how outraged Karolina and Gert were.

"Well, of _course_  the right to vote and equality is something very important for women but there was no need to be so aggressive about it. America would have taken that path on its own eventually, so these conventions and protests were just a nuisance to the people trying to run their country at the time. And we all know women have a hormonal spike, so it's a natural conclusion to fall upon." he responded back, unapologetically defending his position.

"Gert." Karolina muttered through clenched teeth. Gert turned to her and raised a questioning eyebrow. "Hold my snapback."

Karolina tossed Gert her "Wild Feminist" snapback and began walking through the aisles while rolling up the sleeves of the yellow flannel she had on.

"Are you trying to tell me that all women that stood up for their rights, in a way that directly confronted men, were on their period? Sojourner Truth? Susan B Anthony? Oprah goddamn Winfrey?"

"Miss Dean, I'm going to have to ask you to refrain from using that type of language in my classroom. Take a seat and I'll talk to you after class," he said sternly.

"And you'll what? Offer me a tampon for the period I'm 'clearly on'?" Karolina spat back, taking a few steps forward until there was only a foot of space between them. The class had fallen silent.

"Miss Dean, I'm going to have to ask you to go to the headmaster's office. Now." he seethed. Karolina was ready to knock him out but she heard Gert hiss " _go to the office, you idiot."_

Karolina sighed but a part of her knew that Gert was right. She walked over to her purple-haired friend and snatched back her snapback, before cooly strolling out of the room.

**_An hour later, after the final bell had rung._ **

"Detention. One month." Karolina said, strolling towards Gert's locker.

"Be glad it isn't more, dumbass. I hate the asshole too and I'm all for sticking it to the man, but you know what your mom will do if you get into serious trouble again." Gert lectured. She sounded upset but Karolina knew it came from a place of love.

"Anyways, my first detention is right about now so send Stacey and Dale my love but I won't be able to go home with you today."

"Wow. So _you_ blow up and _I'm_ the one who gets the short end of the stick? Screw you, Dean," Gert teased.

"The only end of the stick you _can_ get is the short end, Grumpy." Karolina used the nickname she had coined for Gert a few years back, describing both her height and her demeanor.

"Well lucky for me Chase happens to be into short girls, Dopey." Gert threw back, closing her locker and walking with Karolina to the library where detention was held.

"Lucky for you, unlucky for him. Poor guy, I could almost hear his neck breaking last time he leaned down to give you a goodbye kiss. Don't know how he does it, I don't think I've ever met a short girl worth the trouble."

"Are you implying that I'm not worth the trouble?!?"Gert gasped, clutching a hand to her chest in faux shock.

"Sorry Gert, you're just not my type," Karolina laughed. She gave Gert a playful nudge that turned into a goodbye hug before she walked into the library. She saw one other person there and she almost did a double take because this person most certainly did not belong. Nico Minoru, the school's cheerleading captain and therefore queen bee, sarcastic as hell but she wouldn't be caught dead in detention. Probably because it was "too last season" or something. However there she was, wearing her very revealing white and blue cheerleading crop shirt and drumming her hands impatiently on the desk. Karolina glanced up at the clock and noticed that it was already five minutes past when detention was supposed to start. So it appeared that this was just going to be Nico and her. Fun.

Nico wasn't feeling too ecstatic about this either. The school's token lesbian just walked into the detention center. Don't get her wrong, she doesn't have anything against gay people. Just because she's not shouting it from the rooftops doesn't make her bisexuality any less valid. Her close friends know and that's all that matters to her. However, Karolina Dean needed to make sure that everyone around her knew how she was feeling and what was not "PC" about the situation. Even now, she strolled in with a backward snapback and yellow flannel, looking like a giant stereotype.

 _She's probably here for yelling at a student who was chewing gum made in a factory that was associated with child labor in 1897,_ Nico thought sarcastically.

 _She's probably here because she got caught screwing Wilder in the janitor's closet, or some other painfully obvious high school popular girl cliche,_ Karolina thought bitterly.

Karolina sat down with a sigh at a table far away from Nico's. She began to fidget with the bracelets on her left and right wrist, which were both entirely different. On one hand, there was a large, sturdy, silver bracelet signifying her as a member of her mother's church. She was never allowed to be seen without it, one of her mother's most strictly enforced rules. On the other hand, she had a slender, braided rainbow bracelet given to her by Molly on National Coming Out Day two years ago. Both Molly and Gert had matching ones and Karolina wore her bracelet as much as she could, although unfortunately it was not waterproof like her mother's shackle.

After what seemed like an eternity, the English teacher in charge of detention strolled in while on her phone. She glanced up briefly, spotted the two women, and quickly shoved her phone into her pocket.

"Oh sorry, didn't realize anyone was here. The usual two guys who are always in here got picked up on drug cases last week. I had hoped that kids could stay out of trouble for one week to give me a break but....evidently not," she sighed passive aggressively. Karolina rolled her eyes as the teacher resumed speaking. "We can't have you in the library today, due to renovations, but the headmaster has given me permission to send anyone who has detention to do janitorial jobs. I'll help you get your supplies. You're going to be cleaning the girls' bathroom." 

Both Karolina and Nico groaned. Karolina almost got up to inform the teacher that forcing two women to clean bathrooms would be perpetuating the harmful stereotype that it is a "woman's job" to do household cleaning. However, she held her tongue. She got up and followed Nico out the door, leaving a respectable amount of distance between her and Nico so that no passerby thought they were friends or anything (Karolina almost shuddered at the thought). They reached the janitor's closet and were handed various bottles and brushes.

Nico and Karolina walked silently together to the girls' bathroom. Karolina realized that as much as she despised the stereotype of cheerleaders, she would have to talk to Nico at some point. Might as well start a conversation at some point. 

"So... Nico. Crazy seeing you here, do you come here often or are you just passing through?" she joked. Nico couldn't tell if she wanted to laugh or leave; Karolina was cleverly straddling the line between corny and interesting. 

"I've never been in detention before, if that's what you're asking," Nico replied cautiously. She didn't really know how to interact with Karolina. She was almost nervous that she was going to say something wrong and evoke a rant from the passionate blonde. 

"Well then, what're you in for?" Karolina asked, grabbing a toilet brush and handing Nico a washcloth. Nico took the washcloth with two fingers, dunking it into the soapy water concoction and started with the sinks. 

"You make it sound like a prison sentence. Hate to break it to you, but Orange Is The New Black isn't a reality," Nico snarked, becoming more comfortable. Karolina was actually surprisingly charismatic and had a comforting aura that made her feel like talking. Which was weird. Totally weird. 

"Hey, don't crush my dreams inmate. What do you think? I'm totally Soso, right? With a hint of Nicky?" Karolina perked up at the mention of one of her favorite shows. If Nico knew about it or had even watched an episode or two of it, there's no way she could be all that bad. 

"Oh yeah right," Nico scoffed. She didn't like how accurate Karolina's description actually was. "And who would I be?" 

Karolina thought for zero seconds.

"Piper."

"Piper?!?" Nico spluttered incredulously, "The blonde, white, privileged, social justice warrior? Out of the two of us, that description does not fit me."

"Are you calling _me_ Piper? I'm insulted. Out of the two of us, who has the boyfriend, the Miss Perfect title, and probably got picked up on a light charge that holds you here for less time than me?" Karolina responded, actually feeling a little offended but mostly just feeling curious about this new side of Nico. They fell into a semi-awkward silence, both doing their jobs without really knowing what to say to each other. They had talked, so they knew they were both capable of conversing without bursting into flames. But there was still some previous prejudice holding them back. Nico still held the fear that she would say something wrong. And as for Karolina, she was trying to tame the wild lesbian flirt that sometimes took over her body when a cute girl was in sight. _What??_ It's not like she could _help_ the fact that Nico was hot. She just was. The earth was round, water was wet, and Nico was attractive. A fact of life that we point out and move on from. Except... Karolina was having a little trouble with the "moving on" from it part. Especially with Nico stretching to reach the top corners of the bathroom walls, causing her shirt to ride up slightly exposing even more skin- which Karolina was completely not staring at. Karolina opened up the third stall door and recoiled in disgust at the mess that laid within. 

"Seriously." she muttered, "how the hell did someone get blood on the walls? Looks like a freaking crime scene in here." Nico put her rag down and moved to look at the source of Karolina's griping. She almost started laughing to herself about how the blonde was clearly pissed off but barely cursing.

"While that is a pretty impressive feat, it's still only a few dots of blood. Suck it up, I had to deal with the hair and chewed up gum in every single sink." Nico challenged. Karolina, never one to take a shot at her pride lightly, grumbled  _"give me the rag"_   and began rolling up the sleeves of her flannel. She changed her mind and instead took off her flannel. She looked around for a clean place to put one of her most prized possessions but all she could see was dirty toilet stalls and sinks that had been taking the dirt off of people's hands since before she was born. She was considering sprinting to her locker before she heard Nico clear her throat. Karolina swiveled around to see the shorter girl with her hand outstretched, offering to hold the flannel. 

"You looked like your head was gonna explode," Nico mumbled her explanation, "just clean quickly." Karolina gingerly handed it over to Nico, who rolled her eyes at how much Karolina cared about this piece of fabric. However, she imagined getting bathroom germs all over her cheerleading uniform and she quickly understood Karolina's feelings. Wanting to get back to work, Nico impulsively put her arms through the shirt and slipped it on. It smelled good; masculine with an underlying sweet scent that made it feel cozy. She began wiping down the mirrors until she heard a small chuckle from behind her. Crap. She finally realized that she probably shouldn't have put on this stranger's flannel that she had offered to hold. Great manners, Minoru. As she slowly faced Karolina, she realized that Karolina kind of looked good in just a black t-shirt and jeans. There was something about the plainness of the outfit that drew attention to the alluring details of her face. Nico squashed her thoughts. She hadn't even been single for a day and she was already thinking about other people. Was she even single? In most cultures, a slushie to the face could be seen as a definitive end to a relationship but who knows. This was high school. She had seen a girl slap her boyfriend's face so hard that he still had the mark on his cheek while he was making out with her two days later. Karolina's smirk snapped Nico out of her thought whirlwind. 

"You don't look half bad in that flannel. You'd make it pretty far as a lesbian," Karolina said without thinking. She didn't know how Nico would react. Damn pretty girls who made her mouth spit out whatever her brain was thinking. 

"Thanks but I make it pretty far on my own in the bi community," Nico threw out. She took pleasure in the pink tinge in Karolina's cheeks. Sometimes it's the people fighting hardest against stereotypes that are doing the most stereotyping. 

"I'd pay to see Wilder's face when you dropped that bomb. Probably a mix of excitement and his fragile masculinity shattering," Karolina said a little bit louder than she meant to. 

"That's... actually pretty accurate," Nico laughed and then glanced at the floor, "but we broke up, so it doesn't matter anymore." Nico's eyes darted up to see what Karolina's reaction was. She seemed taken aback, apologetic, and... something else that was glinting in her eyes. 

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't know," Karolina apologized. She might have apologized, but there was a stir of eagerness in her chest and she felt a tug in her lower abdomen. The chase was afoot. There was an attractive, bisexual, single woman, who had a genuinely good personality, in front of her and that was not something she was gonna take for granted. "So why'd you dump him?"

"You're very confident that it was me," Nico replied, feeling slightly flattered. How is it that Karolina Dean had managed to make her go through a full spectrum of emotions in a little over an hour? Karolina took a few steps towards her and Nico instinctively took one back, but she found herself with her back against the wall. She didn't feel trapped though, she just felt almost embarrassed at how much her body was reacting to Karolina's change in demeanor. 

"Because it was very clear that you are _way_ out of his league. Shoot a little higher next time," Karolina said, her voice lower and quieter now. She stopped with a foot or two of space in between Nico's body and her own. It was not lost on her that Nico was breathing a little heavier now and there was a tint in her cheeks. Karolina could hear her own heartbeat roaring in her eardrums. She had never put herself out there quite like this before. 

"Are you implying," Nico said quietly but confidently, "that you know someone who could be better for me?" Karolina smiled slightly. Nico was not rejecting her. Nico was playing along. Karolina gently placed her hand on the wall above Nico's head, allowing her body to lean closer to the smaller girl's. 

"I think I just might know somebody like that," she said. The tension was thick; their cleaning supplies lay forgotten on the floor. However, someone forgot to tell Gert that Nico and Karolina were having a moment because seconds later the purple haired teen pushed through the door, already talking a mile a minute.

"Leslie won't be able to pick you up today so she sent your amazingly talented best friend to chauffeur you back to the five-star Yorkes' hotel. And then, what does this amazingly talented best friend have to do? Endure a ten-minute lecture from Mrs. Heebner about immature hooligans always getting themselves into trouble so that I can find out that you're cleaning the girls' bathroom and that-" Gert finally paused and noticed that Karolina and Nico were scrambling away from each other and adjusting themselves. "-You're clearly busy... with a cheerleader, niceee. I'll wait by the main entrance for you to finish anything you're doing, 110% no rush. Nico, you're looking very nice today." Gert chuckled and leisurely strolled out the door. She shook her head to herself and whispered, "damn, Dean has game." As the door slammed shut, both girls awkwardly picked up their supplies and headed towards the janitor's closet. 

"I'm sorry for Gert, she's a bit of a handful at times," Karolina laughed, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand. Nico, whose full face and neck were glowing pink, nodded. They placed their stuff back and faced each other; the eye contact was painfully awkward. Thankfully, Karolina navigated awkward situations fairly well. Seeing as her mother forced her to talk to the most influential churchgoers, she had to talk to a lot of rich old white guys who liked looking her up and down. So she got good at bouncing back and keeping the smile on her face.

"I don't know about you but I'll be here tomorrow, same time same place."

"Yeah I'll be here for two more days," Nico responded.

"You got off easy. I'm in here for a month. You didn't answer me before, what could _the_  Nico Minoru have done to get her in detention for three whole days??" Karolina mimicked a reporter, holding her hand out as if she had a microphone in it. Nico lightly brushed Karolina's hand aside.

"You'll have to show up tomorrow to find out," she teased. She liked having someone who was actually interested in her. The more time she spent with Karolina (which had only been an hour and a half, but still) the more she was realizing that Alex had never cared about anything but making out and showing her off at parties. 

"Well, I'll definitely be at detention tomorrow. And trust me, I won't be late this time," Karolina smirked before heading off in the opposite direction to yell at Gert. On an afterthought, she whirled around and called to Nico, "Bisexual and less time than me? Definitely Piper." Nico grimaced but there was still something very sweet about Karolina pursuing the topic.

Nico had only one thought as she watched the bouncing blonde hair get smaller and smaller in the distance. Karolina Dean is going to be the death of her. 


	2. there's a teen party scene, those are always fun.

**Karolina was ready to murder Gert.**

"Gert! I was literally ten seconds away from kissing her or at least something of that nature. Couldn't you have like, tripped in the hallway or walked into a pole or something so you didn't get there when you did?" Karolina ranted on the car ride home.

"Look. I had no idea that this of all days was the day you were finally, and I mean _finally_ , going to get a girl. There was no 'Gay At Work. Try Again Later' sign to warn me. I've been used to the single loner my whole life, the one who gazed at Rebecca Turner from afar all freshman year," Gert sighed, hoping her friend would see sense quickly. Sometimes these arguments lasted minutes, sometimes they lasted years. After an intense stare down, Karolina groaned in defeat.

"You're right, you didn't know."

"At last she says something sensible!" Gert cried out, pretending to praise the heavens. "Now with that all out of the way, we can get to the fun stuff."

"I don't even want to know. Actually, fine. I'll bite. What's 'the fun stuff?'" Karolina asked, cringing in preparation.

"How the heck does little old outsider you get face to face with captain cheer herself?? And since when is _she_ your type?" Gert asked excitedly.

"Heeey," Karolina whined defensively, "I have some tricks up my sleeve. A lot of girls find my banter attractive."

"Yeah and the rest of us normals over here find it... hm what's the word- oh! annoying," Gert heckled.

"Wow, with all of the comments you're making, it seems like you don't even want to hear the story." Karolina quipped.

"Oh no I definitely want to hear all of these details. I'm being quiet; I'll turn Gert on do not disturb mode," she said quickly, miming zipping her mouth shut.

"I've been waiting for this moment for years! Who knew that all I had to do to get you to be quiet was almost kiss the most popular girl in school," Karolina remarked. Gert elbowed her but kept her lips shut, as per her promise. Karolina decided to stop harassing her friend and instead just tell her. She could use the advice.

"Well, it turns out that Nico isn't the stuck up teen royalty that we pegged her for. She's bi for one thing, she's into Orange Is The New Black, she's no longer with Wilder and actually seemed kind of into me," Karolina bubbled and Gert smiled. When she found Chase, she became incredibly happy and only wished that her best friend could be able to experience it too. Karolina was the biggest reason why both Chase and Gert suppressed their nerves and admitted their feelings for one another, so Gert had been biding her time until she could return the favor. And if it was Nico Minoru that Karolina wanted, it was Nico Minoru that she would damn well get.

"So, are you excited for detention tomorrow?" Gert prompted.

"I mean, I'm not saying that I'm going to run to the detention room, but I'm not _not_ saying that," Karolina laughed.

"Wow, the Breakfast Club, Lemonade Mouth, Power Rangers and now you've found true love. I don't see why anyone would want to stay _out_ of detention."

"Lo-love? Nobody said ANYTHING about lo- well, y-you know what." Karolina blushed.

"Sure, sure, whatever you say. But maybe check the pigment of your skin before making that statement; I've seen Barbies' less pink than you," Gert snorted as they pulled into her driveway.

**The next morning,**

When Nico woke up, she was surprisingly ready to go to school. At first, she didn't realize why. It was most certainly not the math test she had today. Nor the Wizard meeting she had after school with her mother- wait a second, afterschool rung a bell. Detention. Bathroom. Karolina. And then it all came flooding back to her.

Her eyes snapped open, but she still couldn't see. As she became more aware of her surroundings, she felt a warm, soft material covering her eyes and most of her nose. She then smelled a very familiar and pleasant scent; it smelled... clean with a hint of vanilla. As her eyes finally adjusted, she noticed a yellow tint to the darkness blocking her vision. Her head shot back as she realized she had been cozying into Karolina's flannel. She had hung it on her bedpost so that she wouldn't forget to give it back, and it appeared that she had rolled face first into it at some point in the night. Now that she was wide awake, she slid out of bed and began combing through her closet. As she was searching for the perfect outfit, there was a faint knock at her door and the creak of it being opened a moment later. It was her mom; dressed for work in an intimidating black dress and heels, with her hair tied back in a bun so tight Nico didn't understand how she wasn't crying in pain.

"Good morning, Nico," Tina greeted plainly.

"Morning mom," Nico remarked back, turning to face her closet once again.

"I have something I need to discuss with you," Tina stated emotionlessly, essentially telling Nico to turn back around. Nico knew this wouldn't be good but she twisted to face her mom.

"I received a call from your school informing me that you behaved in an unruly manner towards that nice young man you've been seeing," she voiced, keeping a controlled tone but giving it a sharp edge. "It's bad enough that you decided to make a spectacle of yourself in front of some of my close colleagues' children, but you landed yourself in detention when I explicitly told you we had Wizard business today."

Nico had several biting remarks on the tip of her tongue, but she decided against it. Her mother had been very on edge recently and even Nico knew when to not push her luck.

"Sorry," she mumbled, digging at the carpet with her foot.

"Look at me when you speak," Tina lectured, "you're going to be meeting several big clients of mine today and I would rather they look at your eyes than the top of your head."

"But I can't get out of detention..." Nico left her words hanging in the air as her mom fixed her with a cold stare.

"I am sure that would have been delightfully convenient for you, howbeit I called the school and convinced them to reconsider their harsh punishment. You already served one day in detention and I am sure your suffering tonight will more than make up for the detention you would be missing."

Nico scoffed at "reconsider." At Atlas Academy, "reconsidering" meant that there would soon be a new Minoru Wing built into Wilder Library or the Stein Dance Hall. She was also incredibly disappointed. She was slightly looking forward to seeing Karolina in detention. There was definitely unfinished business from yesterday that had been gnawing at her all night. There was no way their social circles would ever collide again, so it seemed like this might be it. Almost like Jack dying in Titanic, except in this version the iceberg was played by her mother.

"Thanks," Nico said begrudgingly.

"One last word of advice. Treat your boyfriend well. He's from a very respectable family and is an uncommonly polite boy. You wouldn't want to chase him away; I don't appreciate the thought that my daughter could be seen dating half of the riff-raff at that school," Tina declared. Nico clenched her fist and could feel her nails digging into the skin of her palm. However, it served its purpose and she was able to hold back all of her anger.

After a few moments of silence, Tina swiveled on her heel and marched out.

"Fuck," Nico rage whispered.

"Language." her mom called from the other room. Nico gritted her teeth and began angrily flipping through the clothes hangers, now craving a darker outfit to match her mood. She glanced at the yellow flannel and most of the anger dissolved. Now she was just tired. And the day hadn't even begun yet.

**At lunch that very same day, Gert was recapping Karolina's encounter to Chase before Karolina could show up and tell her to keep her mouth shut.**

"You should've seen her, Chase. I've never seen Karolina this head over heels for anyone, not even in her strongest Hayley Kiyoko phase." Gert chattered excitedly.

"Well, there _is_ going to be a lacrosse team party tomorrow. It could make sense if my girlfriend's best friend happened to show up," Chase smirked mischievously.

"And I'm sure the cheerleading team will _love_ partying it up with some of the hottest guys in the school. And in Nico's case, one of the hottest girls in the school," Gert schemed, her smirk matching Chase's.

"I got Nico, you got Karolina?" Chase asked, standing up.

"Yep. Ready, set, go!" Gert called, giving Chase a quick peck as she saw Karolina walking towards the table. Chase grabbed his backpack and hustled off towards the cheerleader table.

"He was off in a hurry, hopefully not because of anything I did?" Karolina questioned worriedly.

"No, he's just going to do typical guy stuff I guess. I have to let him exercise his masculinity sometimes," Gert chuckled sarcastically.

"Hey, I don't see you complaining about all the muscle he builds up while 'exercising his masculinity'" Karolina said while sitting down at the lunch table.

"Oh, perfect segue! Speaking of attractive athletes, Chase is throwing a party tomorrow," Gert said casually. Karolina looked ready to interject but Gert cut her off, "It's a Saturday so your mom can't yell at you that it's a school night, it's at Chase's house meaning the worst jocks won't even bother showing up, and I know for a fact that you finished the majority of your homework in study hall. Not to mention I heard a little rumor that a very attractive bisexual cheerleader is going to be there."

Karolina blushed profusely; all of her arguments had just been negated in a single swoop.

"So now that you have no logical reason to get out of it, I'll see you Saturday," Gert said victoriously. Karolina glowered but she lit up again as Molly walked near the table. Karolina gave the younger girl a big hug and they began talking animatedly.

Meanwhile, Chase had just reached the cheerleaders' table. They preened as he walked over, flirtily waving. Chase barely spared them a second glance as he beelined straight for Nico. Nico was confused because they had hardly said three words to each other since middle school.

"Hey Nico," Chase said, flashing her a bright smile.

"Um... Hey? What do you want, Chase?" Nico asked shortly.

"I'm here to personally invite you to my party tomorrow," he grinned.

"Thanks... I guess. But I'm good."

"Really? Before you decline, let me just tell you that I'm dating Gert Yorkes," Chase stated confidently, as if that would be the deciding factor.

"...Good for you? Still not interested," Nico replied.

"Yes but Gert is not the important factor here. The more important factor is her best friend, Karolina Dean. Who will _also_ be at my party," Chase finished, lowering his voice slightly. If he had a mic, he would drop it. Nico remained silent. Her mind was whirring. She didn't want to make him think that she would be coming simply because she heard Karolina's name.

"I'll think about," she said quietly. Chase smiled, nodded, and walked away, much to the chagrin of the other cheerleaders at the table. They quickly pounced on Nico to get every single detail of the conversation.

Chase pulled out his phone and texted Gert:

 **C:** nico definitely wants to come for karolina, score one for karolico

 **C:** or nicolina

 **C:** do you like the sound of KarNic? NicKar?

 **G:** Kar's coming. And I've decided, it's Deanoru. If you can't combine first names, go with last names. And they call you a genius, genius.

 **C:** yup, love you too

"What are you sitting there grinning about, Gert?" Karolina asked, looking up from the video Molly had been showing her.

"Oh nothing, nothing at all," Gert replied in a voice Karolina did not trust in the slightest.

**A few hours later, after the final bell has rung**

Karolina walked excitedly to the detention room. That is a description that should have never been used in all of history, but that's what was happening. As she opened the library doors, she saw a girl in the corner who was not Nico. Other than her, the room was empty. Karolina's smile slowly faded. She walked over and sat at the front desk, slouching over. She kept her eyes trained on the front door, but as four minutes went by she began losing hope. Finally, the door opened, but it was the English teacher from yesterday.

"Oh great, you're back," she sighed, "and your friend is gone, but there's a new one. Gosh, you kids never truly vanish, like cockroaches."

Karolina was too upset to even correct her teacher on every incredibly inappropriate thing she had just said. Damn it, she had really thought she and Nico formed a connection. She had even given Nico her flannel. A flannel which she was probably never going to get back. No doubt Nico was making fun of it with all of the other cheer bitches (except for Molly. Molly was exempt from all cheer bitch statements. She had made the squad and from that day on Gert and Karolina made sure to always exclude her from their anti-cheerleading stance). Karolina folded her arms over her chest and trudged out of the room as the teacher told them they were going to be organizing the supply closet. She was pissed off at Nico. How did she even manage to get out of it? It was probably some bs cheer practice that ranked higher in the eyes of the school than Karolina's GSA meeting that she had missed yesterday.

Nico desperately wished she was at cheer practice. Or detention. Or literally anywhere else but shaking hands with the slimy, grey-haired investor interested in Wizard. Her mother was demonstrating impeccable manners; always smiling, exchanging pleasantries, and even giving the best chair in the meeting room to Mr. Combover himself. Nico's manners were sub-par; she had a forced grimace on her face, she averted eye contact so that no one could start small talk with her, and she glared at the investor's right-hand man until she won the corner window seat. She would get hell for it later, but she was here on time and she was not outwardly bringing "shame to the Minoru name" therefore her mother was content and she was miserable. She was still bummed about missing detention. She found herself eager all day to talk to Karolina, a weird feeling that she hadn't experienced in a long time. Hopefully she would get a chance to track her down during the party but there was no guarantee that they could talk properly under the watchful gaze of all their peers.

"Well, it was lovely meeting you Mrs. Minoru. Same to you, Ms. Minoru," the oily businessman said, oozing fake pleasantries. Nico almost gagged. As he and his associates left the room, her mother turned to her.

"That was fairly disappointing. I wished that as my daughter you would take more pride in holding the family name. But knowing that it's you we're talking about, that was not appalling behavior so I thank you for being cordial." That was as close to a compliment that her mother could get. Nico took it as a go-ahead to voice the request that had been burning at her all afternoon.

"Hey mom, since I was all _cordial_ and stuff tonight, could I go to a party tomorrow?"

"Who's house?" her mother replied quickly.

"Chase Stein's, actually." Nico knew her mother would be impressed by the A-list household, so she allowed for it to work in her favor.

"Chase Stein? Victor Stein's boy? Well, they are a very sensible family. I approve. As long as you remember-"

"Curfew is 11:00, come in through the back door so I don't wake you, drinking is unacceptable, don't hook up with anyone who comes from a C-list family, I know the drill." Nico parroted the rules she had heard since 8th grade.

"I have never said there was no... intercourse with people from C-list families," Tina paused before cracking a minuscule smile and saying, "They have to at _least_ be a B+."

Nico was very confused. Was that a joke? Did she laugh? Did she nod? Did she take notes? She was unsure of how to react to the situation. She decided to laugh. It seemed like the right call because her mother gave a satisfied nod and left the room. A very puzzled Nico followed her out and they proceeded to silently drive home.

**The next day, a half-hour before the party,**

"Gertttt, I don't wanna be here," Karolina grumbled, holding a red solo cup and swaying slightly. Gert picked up the signs of a pre-buzz Karolina immediately. If she allowed this to proceed, buzzed Karolina would show up within the first hour of the party. And then drunk Karolina would be around towards the middle of the party with a grand finale of a wasted mess by the end. And if she was going to get Nico and Karolina together tonight, that was a horrible plan. Drunk Karolina became even more affectionate than real Karolina. Last time Karolina got fully drunk, she hugged a wall for a solid ten minutes and stopped to pet twenty dogs on the walk home. However, only eight of those were actual dogs. The rest were small children, fire hydrants, and the occasional rabid squirrel.

"Jesus Karolina, you're like a goddamn bloodhound. How did you sniff out the booze already?" Gert asked, prying the cup from her tight grasp.

"I'm just nervous. I need a way to channel my nerves. Do you like my outfit? Should I change my outfit? Oh god, I see the look on your face, I should burn the outfit. Quick, is it too late to go the mall and buy a new wardrobe? How hard do you think it would be to rob an entire section of Hollister?" Karolina fretted, wringing her hands. Gert grabbed her hands to stop their motion.

"Ok stop. You look amazing. If I wasn't doing this whole monogamy thing, I would scoop you up for myself," Gert soothed.

"Still not my type, Yorkes," Karolina interjected.

"Fine, reject your best friend who is trying to hook you up on the date of a lifetime," Gert said, releasing Karolina's hands.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just... she totally ditched me yesterday. And nothing is going to be different today." Karolina mumbled dejectedly.

"We still don't know that she was ditching you. Talk to her, Karo, people surprise you sometimes."

"What am I supposed to do now? Bow to your wise knowledge and head out to fight crime? You sound like a fortune cookie, I'm not drunk enough for this," Karolina complained, making a wild grab at her cup. Gert swatted her hand away.

"I think you're just drunk enough, wouldn't want to be too wasted to not remember your first time with a cheerleader," Gert teased lightly.

"Yeah, first time getting blown off by a cheerleader," Karolina muttered under her breath. The first few people started trickling in, which was Karolina's cue to go awkwardly stand in the corner. Gert greeted people who walked in but drifted back to check on Karolina constantly. When there was a sizable amount of people in the room, Chase walked down the stairs. When she saw his perfectly gelled hair and his crisp polo t-shirt, Gert's eyes lit up.

"Go," Karolina encouraged. Gert spared an unsteady glance back at Karolina but as her eyes locked with Chase's she hurried over to meet him. Karolina was slightly thankful to be alone; she grabbed another cup and filled it to the brim with the first alcoholic beverage she could get her hands on. Scotch. Not easy to stomach, but easy to drown your sorrows in. Jesus, she was starting to sound like a romantic comedy for middle-aged women. All she needed was the bare-chested cowboy to ride in or the attractive doctor to save her from a coma and steal her heart.

Nico pushed the door of Chase Stein's house open. Seems as if people had given up on knocking and just began letting themselves in. The party wasn't particularly wild or tame but Nico had been to some pretty extreme parties on both ends; the wildest had involved setting several members of the swim team on fire while the tamest had been thirty or so teenagers being tricked into having tea with someone's grandmother. This was just a typical party that smelled like booze, had loud music blasting, and had bodies way too close together on the dance floor. Nico scanned around, hoping to spot Karolina before the mass of bodies became too much to see through and she saw the tall blonde in the corner. She smiled softly when she noticed that Karolina was wearing a simple button-down shirt and a snapback, another stereotype but damn she looked good. Nico moved in her direction but as she got close to her, another body stepped into her path.

"Heyy, Nico. Where've you been babe? You haven't been responding to my texts and you haven't visited my locker in two days. I've missed you," a wild, clearly drunk, Alex appeared.

"In case the slushie to the face was unclear, we are most certainly over," Nico said, brushing him off. She locked eyes with Karolina whose face brightened at the sight of her. Nico felt butterflies stir in her stomach that she had made Karolina smile with just a glance. Karolina frowned and Nico was confused, but a second later she felt Alex's calloused hand clamp down on her wrist. He spun her to face him.

"Aw come on Nicky," Alex begged, using Nico's most despised nickname, "You know I'm sorry. It won't happen again. It was just, I was there and Eiffel was there and you weren't there and things just happened. I'm a growing guy, I have needs."

"Sorry I wasn't satisfying enough for you. Go call Eiffel, I'm sure she'd be happy to help you as long as you gave her time to shower off the last guy. Go away Alex, I'm not in the mood to argue," Nico snatched her hand back but Alex wasn't done.

"You know this isn't my fault. You'd been slipping away months before that. You know... I think you're almost glad I kissed another woman. You wanted to get out of the relationship and still look like the victim. Well, congratulations. I look like an asshole and you can go make out with all the boys and girls you want, like the flaky slut that you are," he spit. He had officially crossed a line and Nico needed to somehow shut him down.

"Alex. Stop. Now." Nico hissed.

"Let me tell you something, Nicky-" he started before he was cut off. Standing in between Nico and Alex was a fuming Karolina. Her hands were rolled into fists,

"Hi. Karolina Dean. This is a party where everyone else is having fun and unfortunately, it appears that all you're doing is preventing my friend _Nico_ from having a good time. So I'm going to have to politely ask you to back the fuck up. Next time I ask I won't be so polite," Karolina growled. She didn't even know how she got there. She just saw that Nico was clearly uncomfortable and her body had led itself to go protect her.

"Excuse me? Who the hell do you think are?" Alex spluttered, rattled by this new obstacle.

"Clearly you're not here on an academic scholarship because I literally introduced myself in the beginning of that sentence. Let me reiterate since you seem to have a horrible short-term memory. Leave. Now. I don't mean leave this room, or this floor. I mean go the fuck home," Karolina threatened. People were starting to stare at the scuffle and some kids even had their phones out to record. Alex didn't want to chance getting beat up (verbally or physically) by a girl. Karolina scared him just a tad.

"Fine, whatever. Nice choice of _friends_ I guess," Alex sneered, before storming out. Karolina turned to face Nico. She was worried that her actions had been too much, seeing as they had only known each other for a day. In her defense, it was clear that Nico didn't want to be around Alex and Karolina had always been protective to a fault.

A voice argued in her brain that maybe Nico and Alex had been working things out and she had just ruined it. She began overthinking everything, analyzing the moments leading up to her interruption.

"Karolina," Nico said faintly. Karolina looked cautiously at Nico but to her surprise, Nico didn't look disgusted or upset. "My friends who have known me for years would have never done anything like that, I can't believe a practically stranger did. Thank you."

"All in a days work I guess," Karolina laughed, trying to lighten the mood before softly asking, "Are you ok?" She was ecstatic that Nico wasn't pissed at her but also very sensitive to the fact that the situation still wasn't fully solved.

"Yeah, I don't know. I think so," Nico spoke unsteadily. Karolina was hyperaware of the people still glancing at them and whispering.

"Do you want to go outside? It's quiet and away from prying eyes," Karolina suggested. Nico nodded. Karolina grabbed her hand gently and led her through the thick crowds of people. They went to the backyard and she led Nico to her favorite spot on Chase's property, a small gazebo in the back corner. It had small lights spiraling up the poles, two benches across from one other (which weren't really that far apart because the gazebo was super small), and you could hear crickets chirping when it got quiet at night. Nico took the bench across from Karolina and fidgeted awkwardly with her hands for a moment.

"So... what do you want to talk about?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah ok, Alex is a massive prick in this one. The beginning is just kind of a mess of different scenes but whatever. Also, don't worry the ending of this will be expanded upon more next chapter. Cute gazebo talk, coming soon to a fanfic near you. Definitely more Deanoru in the next chapter I promise, this was just necessary set up stuff.


	3. anyone up for gazebo small talk?

"Wait," Nico giggled, gasping for breath at how hard she was laughing. "Did your ex _seriously_ -"

"-bring her new girlfriend to my birthday party so she could dump me and still steal two slices of cake before leaving? Oh yes, most certainly." Karolina chuckled alongside her. After she'd brought Nico to her special place, she had decided to cheer her up with stories of her most horrifying exes. They had been cracking up for a while now about her horror story from sophomore year.

"I'm sorry, whew, that must have been horrible- did she _actually_ show up in the shirt you got her for your anniversary?" Nico said, trying to compose herself but giving up halfway through.

"Yeah, the anniversary that she forgot," Karolina confessed.

"Oh just when you think the story can't get better, it does," Nico teased. After a few minutes of both girls snickering, Nico took a deep breath and Karolina smoothed our her shirt; soon they had both calmed down.

"Thanks for this, I don't know what happened back there with Alex. He's not usually like that," Nico apologized.

"No it's fine, I would've done it for anybody. No one deserves to be treated like that," Karolina said, slightly deflecting Nico's praise.

"Not many people would. You're definitely one of the good ones," Nico pressed on. Karolina's face turned a delicate shade of pink, although the tips of her ears were bright red. "You're gorgeous, smart, you've got a ton of money; you could literally do anything you wanted. You meet all the qualifications to be the next Regina George. But over the years of vaguely knowing you, and the two real conversations we've had, you've always been so... _good._ Even when you were mildly annoying, you were just sticking up for some minority group that needed an advocate. How do you manage to do that?" The fact that Nico had just called Karolina gorgeous was not lost on her. She had been called gorgeous by half of the lacrosse team and sleazy gas station attendants alike, but somehow the compliment seemed so genuine coming from Nico. However, she would have to come back to that later because the question Nico had asked was making her think.

"I think I've just had to be fake nice for so long, it eventually stuck," Karolina reflected quietly. She barely recognized that she had said the words out loud, but they resonated with her.

"How so?" Nico asked, watching her curiously.

"Well for as long as I can remember I've had to be the face of my mother's church. I've had to smile through boring business meetings, uncomfortable encounters with people confessing their wrongdoings to me, and even awkward interviews airing on live tv. My mom wasn't really a big help, she said any church business should make me happy on its own, but my dad gave me some acting tips on how to stay positive. If I can stay happy through all of that, there's almost nothing that can tear me down. I won't let it," Karolina mused, staring off into the emptiness just beyond Nico's shoulder. Nico nodded along.

"I think I kind of get what you mean. When... when my older sister... Amy... passed away, I did the opposite. I realized the only way to get everyone to leave me alone was to push them away. If they weren't close in the first place, they could never try to get me to open up," Nico began vulnerably spilling out her emotions, something she hadn't done in years. "Then I started cheer to give me something rigorous to focus on and it turned out I was really good at it. I learned how to form superficial bonds with the cheerleaders and, well, that's where I'm at right now. That was a lot to tell an almost stranger, wasn't it? Yeah, uh, sorry for springing that on you or whatever. I don't know, there's just something about you. I find it easy to talk to you." Nico immediately looked away, embarrassed at everything she had just divulged. It was like both her and Karolina were on an emotional high, pumped up on emotions and ready to spill all of their feelings to try to form a connection.

"Well you know what they say, the only way to no longer be almost strangers with someone is to share intimate secrets with each other in your best friend's boyfriend's gazebo," Karolina reasoned.

"Oh yes, that common motto that we all know and use," Nico joked.

"Of course," Karolina agreed. Silence fell between them; they were both still terrified of what could be revealed if they tried to speak again. Suddenly there was the sound of footsteps coming towards them and a glint of purple flashed through the darkness.

"Not again! What did I tell you guys?!? Don't smoke pot on the wooden gazebo! It's easier to burn down than the bathroom _and_ the kitchen, the two places I caught you smoking before. If you want to get high, do it in your mom's basement like the rest of us- and by us I mean the other potheads and certainly not me because that's absurd. I don't do weed, my parents' only grow a small amount of recreational marijuana in our garden." Gert stormed towards them guns a blazing. As she got closer, she saw the familiar blonde waves and noticed the absence of smoke and smell of Cheetos that the stoners usually brought with them. "Oh, wait- Karolina? And is that Nico? Interesting, wanted some alone time out here, I see. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Chase's dad just got home and he wants everybody out. Somebody snuck into the lab downstairs and now he's not really in a party mood. Sidenote, Nico did you happen to drive yourself here?"

Karolina shook her head at the fact that Gert had interrupted them twice now. It seemed whenever she started to get close to Nico, the universe decided to send out Gert to ruin the mood. She loved her best friend dearly but come on, this was just plain unfair.

"Uh, yeah. My car is parked by the next block over. The street was full when I showed up," Nico stated coolly.

"Oh perfect, then you can give Karolina a ride home. Karolina, if you're thinking about asking me for a ride home when you obviously know that I'm staying the night here, I will not hesitate to pull out my global warming statistics. Carpooling is the least we can do to help our dying planet," Gert lectured. As much as she cared about the Earth, she cared much more about getting her OTP in a car together. And yes, Deanoru was already her OTP.

"To be fair, I've seen her PowerPoint on global warming. It was not a fun hour of my life," Karolina whispered to Nico.

"Say no more. Our chariot awaits. And by chariot. I mean the Mazda my mom bought to convince me to 'get out into the world and live a little'" Nico whispered back, as Gert grinned happily at the two girls interacting.

"You're driving an almost stranger home in that Mazda. Sounds like living to me," Karolina rationalized.

"Well when you put it that way, I don't see how I could _not_ drive you home," Nico played along.

"Shall we?" Karolina asked, gesturing for Nico to lead the way.

"We shall," Nico smiled.

"You guys are too cute," Gert sighed as Karolina passed her. Karolina "accidentally" kicked Gert's foot, however, the pain didn't knock the triumphant smirk off of her face.

"So, Gert thinks she's playing matchmaker?" Nico asked when they were out of earshot.

"Yeah, she has some stupid fantasy about us being her dream couple or something," Karolina said awkwardly, not sure how Nico would take her best friend's interest in their blooming chemistry. In that moment; seeing a flustered Karolina and having just opened up to her, Nico decided to do something a little rash. Later she would blame it on the alcohol but both her and Karolina know that she was sober during "the incident".

"Well maybe we should give her what she wants," Nico smirked mischievously. Karolina tilted her head to the side slightly, like a confused puppy. _I don't think this was the type of living my mom expected,_ Nico thought sarcastically to herself.

Nico looked back to make sure Gert was still watching. She was. So Nico leaned up (Way, way up. Was this girl part giraffe??) and kissed Karolina. The first thing Nico noticed was that Karolina's lips were really soft. And they tasted like vanilla; perhaps that's where the ever-present scent of vanilla came from. The first thing Karolina noticed was _holy heck_ Nico was kissing her. This was wildly unexpected but by no means unwelcome. It was over in only a few seconds but Karolina missed the feeling as soon as Nico's lips left her own. She heard Gert squeal audibly but she had no room in her brain to think about her oddly supportive best friend.

"Come on Dean, the Earth isn't going to save itself," Nico said, already walking away. This was a technique she had learned years ago to escape facing the consequences of your actions. She didn't regret the kiss necessarily, she just feared any conversation that could follow. So instead, she left Karolina wanting more and they didn't need to talk about it. Win-win. Karolina numbly followed Nico, not really understanding much of anything right now. Both girls trudged silently through the darkness until they came across a sleek black vehicle.

"Here we are," Nico introduced. She went to the passenger door first to open the door for Karolina, who quickly scrambled in, and then she rounded the car and hopped into the driver's seat.

"Warm enough for you?" Nico asked. She was doing most of the talking for the two of them and she was starting to question if her actions back there had been too hasty.

" Um, yes," Karolina responded, her voice muted. The car peeled out onto the road and just as they started picking up speed, it began raining. It wasn't a storm, simply a light drizzle, but it set the mood. Other than the occasional direction from the GPS, there was no talking until Nico decided she was sick of the silence. 

"Hey," she said more assertively than she had meant.

"Hey?" Karolina questioned, a little muddled by the sudden conversation.

"Look, I know back there was weird and all but I hope it doesn't wreck anything. I was kind of hyped from the party energy and it just sort of happened," Nico explained, but she was severely downplaying how much she had wanted to do this before. How much she had wanted Karolina to take a step forward in the bathroom so that their bodies could collide. It was alarming, how into Karolina she was. It had been such a short time but she was already letting her in physically and emotionally; a more rational Nico would probably tell her to slow down and think. But it had been so long since she had felt anything. Alex hadn't been anything more than a way to make ends meet, it was nice while it lasted but she knew it wouldn't last long. 

"Oh, yeah that's totally fine," Karolina said dejectedly. It seemed that the kiss hadn't meant as much to Nico as it meant to her. Oh well. Stay positive. Think of the good things in the situation. She was becoming closer with Nico, they probably were going to be good friends soon. _But she doesn't want you._ Nico felt comfortable around Karolina and trusted her already. _But she doesn't want you._ Now that she knows Nico doesn't like her, she can move on and focus her energy towards someone else. _But she doesn't want you._ Karolina wrestled with her thoughts but finally she squashed the negativity.

"Just make a right here, my house is the third one down," Karolina directed. Nico obliged and pulled up to the driveway. Karolina started exiting the car but instantly felt large raindrops pelt her head and back, chilling her to the bone.

"Let me walk you to the door," Nico said, reaching for the umbrella she had in the back seat. The rain had started coming down harder and she didn't want the girl to get sick. Karolina started to refuse but Nico insisted. She finally gave in and leaned closer to Nico so that they could share the umbrella. Just from leaning her head out she had become quite soaked and had even begun shivering. Nico felt this and instinctively leaned closer to share her warmth. To Nico, this closeness felt natural but for Karolina it was torture. They reached her doorstep and Nico offered a final goodnight. They awkwardly tried to hug but after a few seconds of floundering they decided on a strange shoulder pat. 

Karolina walked in through the door and was instantly greeted by her mother's stern face. 

"Karolina Dean. Where have you been?" her steely voice rang through the house. Karolina winced.

"I told you Chase was having a small get together," she argued defensively. 

"You told me you were going to a be with a few close friends for a couple of hours. Not squandering the night hours by drinking alcoholic beverages and-" she abruptly peered out the window at Nico who was slowly walking away from the door, "-getting rides from strange girls. This is not what the millennial face of our church should be doing."

"I'm sorry mom," Karolina said guiltily. Sure, some of her mother's rules seemed ridiculous but Karolina was a family girl, always has been. She generally tried to follow the rules, which she didn't want anyone from school knowing, and she hated disappointing her parents. 

"We don't have any use for sorrys here, honey, you know this. What are you going to do?" Leslie prompted, her voice softening slightly.

"Spend all tomorrow at church, working off the time I spent at the party," Karolina recited, well-rehearsed. This had always been the punishment, as long as she could remember. When she was seven and accidentally broke a full shelf of plates? She spent a week of her summer vacation sorting membership papers and organizing old sermons. When she was sixteen and received her first detention for slapping a homophobic student? That was evenings and weekends for a month working with the youth of the church to help them get settled. Her mother gave her a small hug and then ushered her up to her room. As Karolina hurried up the steps, she reflected on the events of the night. 

She would simply have to get over Nico. That should be easy. Three days ago she wouldn't give Nico a second thought. Now she just had to get back to that mindset. 

But she couldn't. There had been a spark for her, even though Nico didn't feel it. All her energy now had to go into crushing and concealing her feelings. Ugh. Screw lesbian emotions.


	4. protagonist pining

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a shorter chapter but I shall make up for it soon.

**Skipping over Sunday and going straight to Monday (All that happened Sunday was Nico pondered her multiple crises and Karolina brooded while at the church)**

Karolina slouched into school. It was Monday, she was tired, and the weekend had been rough. However, she was rudely awoken by a blur of purple and bright pink zooming towards her as Gert and Molly raced to get all the details.

"Soooooo, what happened after you left?" Gert asked, raising her eyebrow suggestively.

"Gert told me you kissed?!?" Molly inquired excitedly.

"Aren't you glad I got the two of you together in a car??"

"How was it? Is she the one? I wanna meet her!"

"Guys. Chill." Karolina silenced. "She apologized afterward. The kiss didn't mean anything to her." Gert's eager smile softened into a look of a concern.

"Oh, Karo, I'm so sorry," Gert comforted instantly. Molly quickly stepped forward and hugged her. Karolina slightly reciprocated, but not with her usual level of enthusiasm.

"Yeah, it's whatever," she said apathetically. She looked up and noticed Nico with her cheerleading friends across the courtyard, laughing. Nico glanced up, caught her gaze, and waved with a big smile on her face. Karolina waved back but her smile didn't reach her eyes. Nico was too far away to notice, but Gert did.

"Karolina, you have to tell her how you feel. Don't let yourself get strung along like this. It's not good for you," she cautioned.

"Strung along like what? Nico doesn't like me so we're just going to be friends. It's as simple as that," Karolina stated. Neither Gert nor Molly _nor_ Karolina believed that but nobody debated it. It was clear Karolina just needed support and a shoulder to cry on when this plan went to shit.

"Just know that we have your best interests at heart-" Gert started, but Molly interrupted.

"Shh, she's walking up right now," Molly hissed.

"Hey, Karolina. Oh, hey Gert, hey Molly," Nico greeted. Karolina instantly forced her smile back onto her face and turned around in her usual positive manner.

"Hey, Nico! Glad to see you got home safely after the party. It was raining pretty hard when you left," Karolina said, trying to find something to talk about that didn't remind her of the kiss. Nico did not hesitate to call her out.

"Wow, you _know_ Karolina Dean doesn't have anything to say to you when her opening line is about the weather."

Gert and Molly made eye contact and slowly backed away, giving them privacy.

"Oh, no it's not like that-" a flustered Karolina tried to explain, her face turning pink.

"I'm totally kidding. The rain was crazy and it's sweet that you wanted to make sure I was safe," Nico responded nonchalantly. It was moments like these that drove Karolina insane. Nico had just called her sweet. But sweet in a friend way or a flirty way? She could never tell.

“Y-yeah,” Karolina laughed nervously. Nico could tell that something was off with Karolina but she didn’t know how to deal with it.

“Hey, Nico! Come back, we need you to be the deciding vote in our argument,” one of the cheerleaders yelled.

“Give me a second,” Nico yelled back. She turned to Karolina, rolling her eyes at the interruption. “Sorry, apparently the girls need me. We should talk later.”

“Uh yeah, it’s no problem,” Karolina sighed in relief. Thank god that painfully awkward conversation was over.

“Well if we’re going to hang out later, I don’t think we can count on fate to randomly bump us into one another again,” Nico said, ripping out a piece of notebook paper and taking out a pen, “So here’s my number.”

Karolina gulped. Nico was giving her number to her. That meant that _she_ would have to send the first text. That was a lot of pressure to be thrust upon her before eight o’clock in the morning. Nico handed Karolina the paper, who took it numbly, and walked off to go meet up with the cheerleaders. Karolina stuffed the paper in her bag to deal with at a later time. Gert and Molly reemerged.

“So you got her number…” Molly questioned carefully.

“Friend stuff,” Karolina affirmed. Gert and Molly nodded just as the first bell rang. Everyone scrambled off to their first class. She spent the entirety of that class, and the class after it, trying to come up with the best possible message to send Nico.

She could send something funny, but then again humor doesn’t really come across well over text so better not risk it. She could send something thanking Nico for the ride the previous night, but she felt that they had already talked too much about the ride.

Around lunch, she decided to send a very simple text that would get the job done.

K: Hey Nico! It’s Karolina. We should hang out sometime soon

A little formal, but it was the first text and she wanted to make a good impression. Few people realize that a first text impression is almost as important as a first in-person impression. She had known many people who had stopped liking a crush simply because they sent the letter “K” or spelled hate as “h8” or ended every sentence with “lol”.

“You seem… rigid,” Gert remarked as she walked up to the lunch table. Karolina waved her away with one hand while still staring intently at her phone.

“Why is Karolina staring at her phone like she’s waiting for Hayley Kiyoko tickets?” Molly commented, bounding happily to the table. Karolina shushed her, which she had never done before.

“Bet you $5 she’s texting Nico,” Gert whispered.

“I bet she’s looking at promos for the new Legends of Tomorrow episode. She hasn’t stopped gushing about Avalance for two weeks,” Molly countered. They shook on it and then Gert sneakily snatched Karolina’s phone from her.

“GERTRUDE ARSENIC YORKES!” Karoline lectured, reaching for her phone.

“You owe me $5, Molly,” Gert celebrated, handing the phone back to its desperate owner.

“Ugh, fine,” Molly sulked, “Karolina, you disappoint me. You _think_ you know somebody…”

“You should know I watched the Legends promo the minute it came out and then three more times after that. I mean what do you take me for, a slacker?” Karolina defended, a little hurt that anyone would take her fangirl-ness into question.

Chase walked over the table and wrapped an arm around his girlfriend, “Is Karolina-“ but before he could finish, Karolina cut him off.

“There are three dots. This is not a drill, she’s typing.”

“Nico,” Gert muttered to an extremely confused Chase.

N: glad you texted, does tonight work?

Karolina nearly dropped her phone in surprised excitement. Her friends could sense the change in her demeanor but no one wanted to risk asking.

K: Yeah! I’ve got detention until 3:40, does 6:00 work for you?

She hit send happily and placed her phone down, but still within reach.

“So… are we speaking with Dr. Jekyll or Mrs. Hyde currently?” Gert joked half-heartedly. She loved teasing Karolina, it was her favorite sport, but she hated seeing her get hurt.

“She texted me back. We’re hanging out tonight,” Karolina said, trying to suppress her happiness. She failed miserably, as even the painfully oblivious Chase could tell she was ecstatic.

“Would it just be a waste of breath at this point to warn you to be careful?” Gert threw out. Karolina pretended to mull it over.

“Yeah, probably. But the concern is noted and much appreciated.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing...” Gert warned.

“Yeah! Like what you’re going to wear, what’re you going to eat, where are you gonna be-“ Molly babbled excitedly.

“-Not what I meant, but Molly has a point. Flannel can only get you so far, Dopey,” Gert laughed, going back to being a carefree best friend.

“She happens to like my flannel,” Karolina replied defensively.

“Oooh,” Molly cooed, as both she and Gert broke off into a horribly off-key version of "Can You Feel The Love Tonight". Karolina’s phone vibrated and she immediately looked down.

N: sure. you’re place? ill even bring some books to pretend we’re studying, from what ive heard youre mom isnt the most supportive of anything not school related

K: Smart move. Almost seems like you’ve done it before. Some might say you’re a bad influence on me.

N: calling me a bad influence already? we havent even gotten to the fun stuff yet…

K: Can’t wait.

Karolina smiled at her phone. This had to be something. Right?


	5. can you have montages in written form?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm terribly sorry for the wait. Hopefully, it's worth it.

Karolina's knee bounced anxiously, hitting the desk. It was five minutes until detention was over. The school had finished construction in the library so now detention was back to staring at the clock. She had so many things to do at home. She had to speed through her homework, pick an outfit, clean her room, try to convince her mom to let her have a friend over...

Meanwhile, Nico stepped out of the shower. She didn't normally take showers at three in the afternoon, but today was the first time she was going to get to spend quality alone time with Karolina. And she'd be damned if a special moment was going to be ruined by poor hygiene. She dried off and walked to her room, trying to find the perfect outfit.

 

When the teacher lazily uttered, "you can go now," Karolina shot up from her seat and sprinted to the parking lot. Chase had promised her a ride and, true to his word, he was pulling up when she got there. She quickly opened up the door and threw herself into the car. Chase was taken aback by the force with which Karolina flung open his car door, so he decided to skip the pleasantries and just drive.

 

Nico had finally decided on an outfit but now a new struggle lay ahead. What was she going to do with herself while waiting? She had finished her homework and now she had nothing to do, short of literally twiddling her thumbs. She had about two hours to kill, so she began meticulously cleaning her room. Yeah. She was that desperate for a distraction.

 

Karolina nearly jumped out of Chase's moving car when he pulled up to her driveway. She muttered what was supposed to be a thank you but it ended up being more of a grunt with an appreciative head nod. Chase got the message and he chuckled, "So whipped," to himself as he drove away. Karolina ran inside and climbed the steps three at a time (the advantage of long legs). She plopped down at her desk and snatched her math textbook out of her bag. She began frantically scribbling down equations, her heart racing with the clock.

 

"How slow does time move?" Nico questioned out loud. She was laying down on her bed, staring at the ceiling with her earbuds in. Just simply thinking about life. The slowly ticking clock was agonizing; there was still an hour to go and she had nothing to do. She had finished the book she was reading, her room was clean, and now she had nearly memorized every blemish on her ceiling. Ugh.

 

"How much homework is it necessary to assign in one night?!?" Karolina sighed desperately. She had forty-five minutes left and still had a stupid worksheet on Shakespeare to fill out. Who cares? He probably wasn't even real anyway. She had to finish her homework so that she could ask her mom if Nico could come over. Her mom would never allow Karolina to have a friend over if there was a stitch of homework left to be done, excluding group projects of course. She began scribbling down the difference between a soliloquy and a monologue, praying that the worksheet was quick.

 

"There could be traffic, I should leave now..." Nico debated aloud. "You live twenty minutes away. There's not going to be ten minutes of traffic," she argued with herself. "Well, what if a dinosaur starts running through town and causes ten minutes of chaos- Oh god, this is torture." To stop herself from slowly going insane she climbed on top of her bed and began taking deep breaths. In for five counts. Hold for five counts. Out for five counts. She peeked out of one eye but it hadn't even been a minute yet.

 

"Done!" Karolina cheered triumphantly. She closed all of her binders and books, shoving them to the corner of her desk. She smoothed out the red flannel she was wearing, it would half to do. Her bedroom was... decent. She nearly slid halfway down the stairs to find her mother. Why was their damn house so big? She finally found her in the kitchen, after checking her room, the study, and patio.

 

"MomcanIhaveafriendoverIpromiseIfinishedallmyhomework," she exhaled.

"Woah, honey, breathe," her mom chuckled. Karolina took a huge gulp of air and started again.

 

"Can I have a friend over? I promise I finished all my homework and she'll leave before eight," she tried not to rush out her words. Nico was due any minute now and she had no time to spare.

 

"As long as you follow the rules, it should be fine. Open door policy, no leaving without telling me, the usuals," her mom stated sternly. Karolina nodded, heart thumping slightly less anxiously now.

 

"Thank you so much," Karolina squealed. At that second the doorbell rang.

" _Karolina Dean._ Did you already invite them to our house?!?" her mother lectured.

 

"Love you, mom," Karolina smiled timidly, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before speeding towards the door.

  
She slowed down slightly to catch her breath before flinging the door open. "Hey, Nico! Right on time."

 

"Two minutes late actually, not that I was counting or anything," Nico greeted. They had an awkward stare-down for a few seconds until Karolina remembered she had hostess duties. 

 

"OH- um, come in. I would give you a tour but my mom's home, so I think it's best if we just go straight to my room," Karolina rambled.

 

"Fine by me," Nico agreed. Both girls were extremely nervous and it manifested in different ways. Karolina had become filled with energy and over-eager to please while Nico had begun over-thinking everything and decided to speak very few words to portray an image of calmness. Their nervousness worked because Karolina was able to fill all the empty silences that Nico left. Karolina led Nico up the stairs to her room. 

"I have something for you," Nico said when Karolina had reached her room. She went to shut the door but her mother called up, "Door open!"

 

"Sorry, mom," Karolina yelled back sheepishly. In her rush of nerves she had completely forgotten the number one rule. 

 

"How did she even know? Your mom seems exactly like my mom," Nico whispered in awe. 

 

"Sometimes it scares me how much she always knows what's going on but- You said you had something for me?"

 

"Right," Nico remembered, pulling the yellow flannel from around her waist, "You left this with me a few days ago and I wanted to make sure you got it."

 

“Thank you,” Karolina said gratefully, taking back her precious possession. “I do have to admit though, it looked really good on you. I’m almost sad to take it back.”

 

“Well, I’ll wear it as many times as you invite me over,” Nico bantered, all awkwardness now forgotten.

 

“Careful making promises like that, I’ll invite you over twice a day if that’s the deal.”

 

“You make it sound like that’s a bad thing. Comfy clothes and good company? I’ve had worse,” Nico bantered.

 

“Let’s not pretend that you’d only come for the clothes,” Karolina smirked, taking a suggestive step closer towards Nico. They were on opposite sides of the room but they both felt the need to be closer.

 

“You’re right, you caught me. I’m here for your mom.” Nico confided in a hushed tone. Karolina snorted with laughter.

 

“The only people who come here for mother are lost souls, the press, and my dad.”

 

“Well now you can add hot head cheerleaders to the list,” Nico remarked, grinning. She took a few steps forward as well until half of the distance had been cleared between them. There was still a nervous buzz between both girls as neither of them had fully crossed the line from flirty to romantic, so they didn’t know how to navigate that battlefield.

 

“You know, if I’m being honest, I used to try to keep hot head cheerleaders off of any list associated with me.” Karolina disclosed.

 

Nico raised an eyebrow, “Am I being invited to change that?”

 

“Hardly.”

 

“Too bad,” Nico teased taking the final two steps that landed her inches away from the other girl, “I’ll just find a way to make it on there regardless.”

 

At that wonderful moment, it’s as if the gods truly wanted to make their relationship a slow burn. Because Frank Dean walked up the stairs with an amiable smile and a plate of cock-blocking cookies.

 

“Hey girls, your mom just wanted me to check in on you and I brought these,” he explained gesturing to the cookies, “to make it seem a little less like I was the over-protective dad checking up on his kid.”

 

Karolina forced a smile but it melted into a real one because she loved her dad and he had brought them sweets as a bribe. “Just because I’m a lesbian doesn’t mean every girl I bring home is threatening to defile me.”

 

Frank laughed. “Try to tell that to your mother. She wouldn’t let you be _alone_ with a boy in preschool, she’s surely going to carry that all throughout your life.”

 

“Hi Mr. Dean, I’m Nico Minoru. It’s nice to meet you,” she greeted shyly. Karolina took note of how quiet her voice had become and how little she was now making eye contact. Apparently even _she_ lacked confidence in certain situations. That was relieving to see.

 

“Hey, Nico. Minoru… Tina and Rob’s kid, right?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“I’ve been to a few dinners with them, they’re good people. I’m also glad Karolina is branching out and making new friends. You know I love Gert, but a man can only watch _Thelma & Louise _so many times.”

 

Nico fought to keep a bitter snicker to herself. If only he knew how “good” her mother was behind closed doors. The cold exterior with an even colder interior didn’t leave any room for cookie baking. Nico doubted that her mother would even stand to watch a _trailer_ for Thelma  & Louise.

 

“Thanks, Dad,” Karolina hinted, looking between her dad and the door to try to send him the message.

 

“I got it, don’t want the big movie star leaving your friend starstruck. It’s understandable,” he winked. He left the plate on her dresser and walked out, moving to close the door on his way out.

 

“Door open!” Leslie called from the bottom floor.

 

“How does she know?” he said softly, glancing around in wonder of the woman he loves.

 

“Magic.” she retorted, pride in her voice at being able to astound both her husband and her daughter. Frank left the room and Karolina and Nico were filled with regret that yet another possible moment had been ruined.

 

“I’m going to invest in a damn lock company,” Karolina muttered under her breath.

 

“What?” Nico asked, thinking she had missed something the other girl had tried to say to her.

 

“Oh, I just said my dad doesn’t usually bake cookies when I have company.”

 

“Hmm, maybe I’m special,” Nico deadpanned.

 

If only Nico knew how true that statement was to Karolina.

 

“Well now that we know my mom has the ability to see everything, what do you want to do?”

 

“We can just talk, I still want to get to know you better,” Nico admitted. She found herself constantly thinking about Karolina, trying to figure out stupid things that she wished she could just ask.

 

When she was eating lunch, she wondered what Karolina’s favorite food was. When she was in math class, she wondered if Karolina enjoyed math.

 

"I'm going to say something really awful, so I'm giving you permission to kick me out of your house after."

 

"What?" Karolina replied nervously.

 

"Do you want to play twenty questions?" Nico cringed at the pure straight tweenage girl cliche of it all. Karolina, on the other hand, was ecstatic.

 

"Yes, I’d LOVE to play!"

 

Nico grinned at her eagerness because _of course_ Karolina was excited.

 

"Um so... Who's your favorite musical artist?"

 

Karolina scoffed. “Hands down, it _has_ to be our Lesbian Jesus, Hayley Kiyoko."

 

Nico nodded. "I've listened to a few of her songs, she's good."

 

"Only a few? Which ones?" Karolina questioned in disbelief.

 

"Girls Like Girls, Sleepover, Feelings, and Curious. That counts as your question by the way."

 

Karolina sulked until Nico conceded, "Fine, you get off on a warning this time. But I won't be so nice if there's a next time."

 

“Ok,” Karolina said brightly, “What’s your favorite musical?”

 

“Musical?” Nico groaned, “I might have to revoke your question privileges.”

 

“Hey that’s not fair, you have your things that you want to know and I have mine. I can see past that grumpy exterior, you have one that you want to say.”

 

“Heathers,” Nico grumbled.

 

“What was that?”

 

Karolina had heard her, but she wanted to relive the glory of having Nico admit she liked a musical.

 

“I kind of liked Heathers. The music was good and the storyline was dark, which I liked,” Nico admitted begrudgingly.

 

Karolina beamed so wide it seemed as if she was going to explode into a ball of sunshine. “I knew it! I _bet_ you’ve danced to Candystore before. Am I right?”

 

“No comment,” Nico muttered, refusing to meet Karolina’s eyes. “My question, if you could choose to vote for one Republican leader who would you pick?”

 

“Hey!” Karolina protested incredulously.

 

“You have your things that you want to know and I have mine,” Nico mimicked. Both girls began laughing at how utterly ridiculous the question had gotten in three turns. The connection they felt between them was easy to work with. Even if every romantic moment they had attempted had been spoiled, the getting to know each other stuff made up for it.

 

“Abraham Lincoln,” Karolina answered after thinking.

 

“Cheater,” Nico feigned a scandalized voice.

 

“He was a Republican!”

 

Karolina glanced over at Nico who was smiling at her.

 

“Your smile is nice, you should do it more often.” she complimented.

 

“Don’t really have a lot to smile about,” Nico shrugged.

 

“You’re smiling now.”

 

“Guess I have something in my life that’s making me happy.”

 

“…Well, the lunch ladies _did_ just add tater tots to the menu. That’s something,” Karolina pretended, not wanting to assume Nico was talking about her. She didn’t want to get her hopes up, only to find out Nico was back with Alex or heaven forbid somebody new. 

 

“As much as Helen does make a delicious tot, I was talking about someone else.”

 

“Oh! That creepy science teacher is finally retiring,” Karolina suggested. Nico leaned closer until she was yet again only a few inches away from Karolina’s face. She could see every strand of blonde hair, every speck of blue in her eyes, every nervous fidget.

 

“As glad as I am to not have him slow down while walking past cheer practices, my reason is a little… closer.”

 

“Closer?” Karolina asked while leaning in slightly.

 

“Closer,” Nico said and finally, for the first uninterrupted time, her lips grazed Karolina’s.

 

And Nico’s phone rang.


	6. this chapter is probably not worth the wait but read it anyways because gay stuff is coming soon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've made you wait for this. Truth is I hit a block and I just couldn't make myself finish this. I'd had the beginning written for months but the end just felt forced to me. Finally after waiting patiently, I got the ending and hopefully the writer's block has passed. Fingers crossed.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" 

Is what Karolina _would've_ screamed if she had no self-restraint. However, after years of biting her tongue she had perfected the technique of smiling through the excruciating pain. She couldn't even call what had just happened an interruption of a kiss because there had been no kiss. Nico's lips had barely skimmed her's before the horrid ringing.

Nico didn't have the same self-control. She angrily took the call without checking the caller ID.

"What?!?" she seethed. A second later a look of fear crossed over her face and her tone softened distinctly as she said, "Yes, Coach. Sorry for the abrupt greeting, I'm just... never mind. No, I don't need to talk about it. It won't be a distraction. Yes, I'll be there right away." She turned off her phone.

"Cheerleading?" Karolina asked.

"I completely forgot that today is Monday of boot camp week," Nico explained, shaking her head in frustration.

"Boot camp week?" Karolina's eyebrows knit in confusion.

"At the beginning of every semester, Coach and I organize a grueling week of long practices to strengthen the team and weed out the less dedicated. Without fail every year the whole squad almost drops from exhaustion at the end of the week and we typically lose one to three members. Unnecessary and cruel? Probably. But it's worth it because of how much the team grows afterward."

"I still don't understand you, but I respect the hell out of that dedication," Karolina chuckled.

"Yeah it's- Hey, you should come. I _did_ promise to spend time with you and hell week doesn't have to get in the way of that."

"Wouldn't that be awkward? I mean, I _am_ the school lesbian. I'm pretty sure half the girls will just think I'm there to stare at their asses," Karolina laughed.

"Let them. I know there’s only one ass you'll be staring it," Nico taunted, rather bolder than her previous innuendos.

"I don't know," Karolina pretended to ponder the other members of the squad, "I've heard Spencer has been working out a lot and in those uniforms..."

"Spencer's ass may be nice but I once saw her get her own name wrong on a test. Not your type." Nico said sarcastically, but Karolina could sense a jealous undertone in her voice. It excited her. She decided to pursue.

"And how would you know my type? Maybe I'm incredibly shallow, you don't know."

"Oh right, my bad. I forgot that you would just desert all your feminist qualities while dating and channel your inner misogynist." Nico said almost bitterly.

"A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do," Karolina teased. Nico flipped around. Perhaps this moment would remain uninterrupted?

"And what is it you need to do?" she teased, staring intently at Karolina. Karolina's mouth curled up slightly just as Nico got a text from her coach yelling at her to come as quickly as humanly possible.

"You know what, that's fine I didn't even expect the universe to let that slide. It's fine, I can keep waiting," Nico muttered under her breath.

"So do you really want me to come?" Karolina asked, a touch of insecurity showing in her voice.

"Of course," Nico responded sincerely, holding out her hand. Karolina took it and glanced up slightly as if asking fate if this small sign of affection was ok. She cautiously entwined her fingers with Nico's. Apparently fate said this was ok because nothing rang, buzzed, burst in, or brought cookies to interrupt their moment. Karolina ran a momentary victory lap in her head before walking to the door and holding it open for Nico.

"Wow, and a gentleman too. Spencer would be a lucky girl," Nico teased.

"Or maybe I'm just holding the door to check out uh... _Spencer's_ ass," Karolina smirked.

"Pity Spencer isn't here, you might just have to settle on mine," Nico shrugged.

"Pity," Karolina grinned. Just to play into the joke, she glanced down as Nico made her way through the door. _Only_ for the joke's sake. She was a dedicated comedian of course.

"Mom?" Karolina called nervously when they descended the stairs, "Nico has an emergency and she needs to get there as quickly as she can, is it ok if I tag along?"

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," her mother frowned.

"I'll have her home in three hours safe and sound, I promise. It's just that I'm the captain of the cheerleading squad and we have practice today that I'm interested in showing your daughter," Nico interjected. Karolina pleaded with her eyes but she hardly needed it because her mother had already sat up in her chair, interest burning in her gaze.

"You made captain of the cheerleading squad? That must've been a lot of work. Long hours and determination, right?"

"Yes ma'am," Nico responded, pride shining on her face. Karolina also felt a sense of pride at the fact that Nico had achieved this. She knew this meant a lot to her.

"She seems like a very responsible young girl Karolina, I'm glad you've at least befriended _one_ of those."

Karolina wanted to defend Gert, but this wasn't the time. Her mother continued,

"As long as you are back by 9:30 on the dot, I don't see any issue with letting you observe where hard work can get you."

"Thanks, Mom, I guess," Karolina cringed. She grabbed Nico's arm and dragged her out of the house. Nico slid into the driver's seat of her car while Karolina took the passenger side. Soon, after taking some dangerously fast turns, they were at the school and Nico hustled into the locker room to throw on her cheer clothes as quickly as possible. Karolina considered waiting for Nico but thought that sounded kind of stalkerish, so she headed to the stands.

There were already a few girls there, starting to get warmed up, so Karolina tried not to draw any attention to herself. She was still slightly uncomfortable and had no idea why Nico wanted her to be at cheer practice.

Just then Nico walked onto the field and all feelings of discomfort melted away. Karolina had seen Nico in her cheerleading uniform but she had never _seen_ Nico in her cheerleading uniform. Just the right combination of revealing but leaving some of it up to the imagination. Nico waved to her and Karolina grinned and waved back.

She saw Nico join the group of girls and strike up a conversation but they were too far away for Karolina to hear. Unfortunately, she could very clearly see the judgmental look on one of the brunette athlete's faces as she adamantly pointed at Karolina. She also could see Nico's face harden into a frown and noticed her stance shift into an offensive position. Nico said something that quite clearly put the other cheerleader in her place and Karolina was yet again awestruck by Nico's complex personality.

As the huddle separated, Nico waved at Karolina. Karolina grinned and waved back. She checked her phone and saw she had a text from Nico.

Nico (7:29): If you sit so far away, I can't see your face :(

Karolina laughed and moved down a few rows. Nico flashed her a thumbs up. Nico yelled for everyone to begin warming up and stretching. And oh boy, if Karolina wasn’t falling for Nico already this would’ve been the last straw. All the girls were testing the limits of their flexibility in rather revealing outfits but Karolina only had eyes for Nico. She looked away periodically just to remain respectful but it was hard to tell if it would be more polite to look or not look.

Karolina felt her heartbeat start to speed up from her general level of anxiety at the situation. What was she doing here? Why did she think any of this would be okay? There was no way that she could ever hang out with the captain of the cheerleading team. Look at her, she could barely keep it together while they were doing stretches. Karolina ran off to towards the parking. Since Nico had driven her here she decided to walk. Her school was near a few shops so she figured she could just wait at one of those and maybe text Gert to pick her up when she was ready to go back. 

She looked down at the clock and saw it was only 8:01, so she had some time until she had to head home. She decided to head into a 7/11 where she could lay low, get a Slurpee, and just think things over. Thankfully there were only two people in the store so she could sit in the corner with minimal judgment.

Now that she had a chance to breathe, she finally began to sort through her thoughts. On one hand, she was excited by the idea that Nico and her might hang out more and that there was a possibility that Nico liked her as much as she liked Nico. She wished this was the case and certainly there were some signs pointing in that direction. But there was also a possibility that this was some cruel joke, some sick prank crafted by someone who wanted to laugh at their local lesbian. Karolina tried not to spiral but she couldn't get a twisted image of Nico recounting all of the moments they had shared to a group of laughing cronies out of her head. 

Thinking rationally, Nico had always had a flirty demeanor around her and seemed just as eager to hang out but Karolina’s anxieties roamed wild.

She glanced down at her phone again and not only had twenty minutes passed, but she had two texts from Nico.

Nico (8:05): Aw, sorry you had to go. Was it your mom?

Nico (8:15): Text me when you get home safely, hopefully see you tomorrow

Karolina debated in her head. She had always been her own worst enemy, beating herself up before anyone else got the chance to do so. She could let anxiety control her life or she could actually go for what she wanted for once. Karolina began typing out a message. Her hand was shaking so badly that she could barely send it. 

Karolina (8:22): Any chance you’ll be done by 9? Meet me at 7/11


	7. I finally stop torturing you guys... only to torture you again

Karolina paced in between the aisles. The worker was giving her a weird look.

"Do you need any help, Miss?" he asked cautiously, as if she were unstable. Let's face it, she did look slightly undone. She was nervously checking her phone every few seconds, continuously running her hands through her hair, and every once in a while glancing over at the door. It was 8:50 and still no text from Nico, so she was starting to lose hope.

"No, I'm fine," Karolina said nervously, her voice a full octave higher than it should be. The cashier gave once last wary glance at her before going back to his phone. Karolina continued to hyperventilate. The cashier soon found, however, that he couldn't focus on the BuzzFeed quiz he was taking with his curiosity about this frenzied girl.

"...because you know if you're looking for the Oreos, they're just right there to your left-"

"No I'm fine, I'm just waiting for somebody.... maybe. I don't know," Karolina spilled, not really knowing why she was telling all this to a stranger.

"Well, whoever he is, he's pretty dumb to be leaving a girl as pretty as you waiting." The cashier figured he'd might as well try. He didn't have a whole lot going for him.

"I'm a lesbian and I'm not in the mood, so I'm stopping you right there," Karolina shut him down. The cashier nodded respectfully, this was about on par with how things went in his life.

"It's just," Karolina began to babble, "There's a girl who I like a lot. I didn't think I was gonna like her at all but then she surprised me in the best way possible. We got pretty close pretty quickly and I want to maybe see if things can go further with her but I'm scared to make a move. Like, what if I'm just imagining it or she's just one of those overly affectionate people, she's probably not even coming-"

"Ya know, if this was Vegas I'd bet against you," the guy chuckled.

"What does that even mean?" Karolina asked exasperatedly.

"It means there's a very exhausted looking girl here who seems pretty interested in seeing you."

Karolina flipped around and saw Nico. He wasn't lying about the exhausted apart. She was sweating and looked like she could collapse at any moment. She very gingerly had her hand pressed to her stomach. 

"Well, would you look at that? It appears that we're out of... things. I've gotta go in the back to sort that out," the employee very smoothly stated. Karolina smiled. She liked him. He was almost gone before he said,

"And please, no fucking near the Slurpee machine. She's near and dear to me. Everywhere else is free game, especially anywhere in the aisles so I can force Steve to clean it up. Asshole.” He ducked away and finally, Nico and Karolina were alone.

"He's... nice," Nico commented, moving closer to Karolina. Karolina noted that Nico seemed a little out of breath. They were still a few feet apart though, with Karolina frozen in place and Nico not wanting to seem aggressive.

"Well, he's had to put up with me for a few hours, but he only started talking about ten minutes ago. Pretty sure he thought I was trying to steal something," Karolina joked, trying to hide her nerves.

"Well he seems like the only person working in our favor, so he's cool in my book," Nico laughed, "You've been here for a few hours?"

"Yeah, I guess. Time slipped away from me a little bit."

"That can't possibly be healthy. Mentally or physically. No one should spend that much time in a dingy convenience store."

Karolina laughed and shook her head. She took her first steps towards Nico. They stood awkwardly facing each other, Karolina's hands shoved in her pockets. Nico’s hand was still wrapped around her waist.

"Ok, I-"  
"Well, what-"

They both blurted out at the same time. They laughed and Karolina motioned for Nico to go first.

"Well, what I came here to say was if it's all getting to be a little too much, we can slow down. Stop hanging out for a while, stop texting, whatever you need," Nico tried to sound encouraging but she really didn't want to let go of Karolina. Not when she was so close, both literally and figuratively.

"That's a real shame," Karolina noted apathetically. Nico glanced at her, in shock of the lackluster response.

"What? Why?"

"Well, what I was going to say is I'm ready to make my move now."

Nico raised an eyebrow and Karolina leaned down to kiss Nico. This wasn't a drunken joke. This was real. And there were no interruptions this time. Karolina tangled her hands in Nico’s hair as the kiss deepened. Nico could feel Karolina's smile and she was pretty sure Karolina could feel hers.

The employee whistled to himself in the break room. He was busying himself with sorting some inventory, but out of the corner of his eye he could see the two figures had melded into one on the security camera. Seeing as his nights were filled with douchebags smoking right by the NO SMOKING sign and teenagers coming in to disrupt the entire store, he really supported this pure, peaceful moment.

Karolina pulled back, trying to refill her lungs with air. She had a goofy grin on her face that made Nico want to pull her back in for round two. They were still only inches from each other as Nico’s hands had jumped from her own waist to Karolina’s.

"So that's what it feels like without being interrupted," Karolina chuckled.

"Oh trust me, we can do much better and longer than that," Nico smirked. 

"While I'd love to, Mom's not really gonna be as pleasant as she was today if you keep me out past curfew," Karolina said, glancing at the clock nervously.

"But don't you remember?" Nico teased, leaning to try and steal another kiss, "I'm a hard worker. I'm captain of the cheerleading squad. If I keep you out late, I'm probably just teaching you all sorts of things about determination or effort or endurance..."   
Karolina pulled away from Nico and laughed.

"Such a tempting offer. But, if I miss curfew you're definitely getting blacklisted by my mom and I'm planning on spending a lot more time with you," Karolina reasoned. Nico didn't want Karolina to go but she was dead tired and barely able to stand up. So reluctantly, she agreed. Karolina noticed the sluggishness of her movements.

"Hey, do you need to walk me to your car? I'm not going to let you collapse in a 7/11 parking lot," Karolina offered, letting Nico lean some of her weight on her. They walked out side by side, Karolina pausing to yell “thank you” to the employee who was still in the backroom. 

When they were in the parking lot, Karolina gave Nico one last kiss goodnight before heading to her own car. She had a giant smile on her face and couldn’t wait to tell Gert. 

Nico was smiling too, but her breathing was labored and she slumped over in the car to handle the pain. She pulled up her top to reveal a large, fresh bruise on her stomach. The throbbing pain made every moment hard but she tried to shove it to the back of her mind and focus solely on getting home safely. 

It was lucky for her that Karolina was gentle, unlike Alex. With a combination of the ecstasy of the kiss and the gentleness of her touch, Nico fought through the pain. Now without any distraction, she was left to think about how she get the bruise. She briefly considered telling Karolina but she was enjoying the carefree place they had just gotten to and wasn’t going to jeopardize it with some stupid drama. 

Meanwhile, Karolina pulled into her driveway at 9:30 exactly. She sprinted to the door but her walkway was too long and it was 9:31 when she entered the house.  
“When I set a curfew, Karolina, I expect for it to be taken seriously,” Leslie reprimanded, from a chair right by the front door. It appeared she’d been waiting there for a while, eager to lecture her daughter for one reason or another. 

“I’m sorry. Mom, I got home on time but the walk to the door-“

“Save it. You know excuses are only the brain’s way of expressing guilt. I thought I taught you better than that,” she said sternly. 

“Yes, Mom. It won’t happen again,” Karolina apologized, bowing her head slighting. 

“I’m sure it won’t. However, a weekend of service should help enforce my rules. I expect you to be at the church at 5am and you won’t be returning home until at least 7pm.”

Karolina knew better than to complain. That would only get her harsher punishments and longer sermons. She went up to her room, putting in her earbuds and tuning out the world.

She wouldn’t let her mother’s words ruin her evening, but it still stung. She always tried to be what her mother wanted, but it was never enough. 

When Nico limped into the house, both of her parents were asleep. They knew it was Hell week and they didn’t feel any particular need to stay up and greet their daughter. Her dad usually would stay up on Friday to make her something special to eat for surviving hell week but her mom never did. 

Nico collapsed on her bed, trying to ignore the dull ache in her side. 

Karolina buried her head her in pillows, trying to tune out everyone and everything. 

So much for a nice evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd really appreciate if you guys comment. It helps me stop procrastinating and actually write if I know people are waiting for a chapter.


	8. and the suspense continues, because how else do i get you guys to keep reading

Nico woke up peacefully. She had had a nice dream about Karolina and her at the 7/11, but in this dream Karolina hadn’t had to go. She rolled over in her bed to get up and all peace was zapped out of her. Immediately she felt the sharp pain in her side and a soreness in her limbs.

Nico carefully shuffled out of bed and into the bathroom. She lifted up her shirt and found a large dark purple bruise on her stomach. She groaned, as she was hoping it would be a little easier to hide. Nico took two Advil, praying that it’d be enough to get her through the day. She threw on an oversized sweatshirt and leggings, as she didn’t really feel like trying today. As she was leaving her house, she got a disapproving look from her mom.

“What?” she sighed.

“Outside of this house, the image you present is representing the Minoru name. I would appreciate a  _little_  effort to dress nicely. I cannot imagine Alex finding that outfit appealing,” she scolded.

“Mom, for the last time, I am  _not_  dating Alex.”

Tina made a small noise of disapproval and walked away. Nico grabbed a granola bar from the pantry and hurried out the door. She had places to be and, more importantly, people to see. She drove as fast as she possibly could, ignoring the periodic throbbing in her side.

Finally she reached the school and she hurried in, before remembering she had no idea where Karolina hung out before class. She didn’t even know where her locker was.

Her quick steps slowed to a sluggish pace, as her shoulders hunched in defeat. She felt a light tap on her shoulder and she turned around in annoyance at the disruption. However, all annoyance melted away when she saw Karolina standing in front of her with a cautious smile.

“Hey Nico,” she greeted nervously, as if she was waiting for Nico to tell her last night was a mistake.

“Hey Karolina,” Nico responded. She wanted to add something but she didn’t know what. They both stood there, grappling for something to end the silence. Suddenly, a  _welcome_  interruption bounded in.

“And how is my favorite cheerleader doing?” Gert asked with a grin on her face, sneaking up behind Karolina. Karolina glared at her but on the inside she breathed a sigh of relief just to have the conversation moving again.

“Well I actually had a long night last night, but it was good.” Nico said.

“Just good?” Karolina joked, as Gert arched a questioning eyebrow.

“Well it would’ve been better but curfews got in the way,” Nico teased.

“Well then next time you should make your plans earlier.”

“Maybe I will-“

“And maybe that’s my cue to leave,” Gert muttered, good naturedly. Karolina laughed and gave her a quick hug before turning back to Nico.

“So about those future plans?”

Nico smiled softly, “I’m kind of unavailable during hell week, unless you want to meet for ten minutes a night. However, I’m free Saturday?”

“I’d love to!” Karolina beamed, before remembering the  _other_  events of the previous night. “But I can’t. My mom has me booked doing service at church all weekend. If I could get out of it I would, but I got home after curfew last night.”

“Oh,” Nico’s smile faded, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get you into trouble.”

“No no not at all,” Karolina insisted, “It was worth it.” She took a tentative step towards Nico and said, “How about we start with  _I’ll see you at lunch.”_

“That I can do,” Nico promised. The bell rang and they had to head off to class. In the period right before lunch, Nico’s painkillers started wearing off and she could barely focus. She asked the teacher if she could go to the nurse and she wrote her a pass.

While walking down the hall, Nico had involuntary flashes of last night. The loud noises of cheering. The locker room. The pain. The locker room floor. She felt as if the wind was being knocked out of her yet again. Each breath attempt felt painful. She made it safely to the nurse’s office and collapsed into a chair. The nurse walked over in concern.

“Can I have some pain relievers?” Nico asked with some difficulty.

“What for, dear?”

“I’m just having some chest pain. I fell during cheerleading practice yesterday,” Nico explained, not wanting to give the real reason.

The nurse asked, “Can I take a look?”

“It’s not necessary,” Nico said defensively but lifted her shirt slightly.

“This is very serious,” the nurse lectured sternly, “you could have a fractured or bruised rib and even possibly internal bleeding. Have you gone to the doctor?”

“No,” Nico said quickly. She didn’t want this getting bigger than it already was. She’d be fine in a couple of days, she was sure of it.

“I’m calling your parent or legal guardian to take you to the hospital.”

Nico wished she hadn’t come to the nurse but it had just hurt so badly. She hoped her dad was the one to pick up and not her mom, because there was certainly a lecture waiting to happen. She saw the nurse pick up the phone and dial a number from the computer screen.

“Hi, is this Mrs. Minoru? Yes, this is the Atlas Academy nurse’s office. Your daughter has some concerning injuries and I must insist that you get her to a medical expert immediately. Well… no, she’s not dying at this second but- yes I  _do_  understand that some people have very important jobs to do, it’s just your child’s safety is at- Mrs. Minoru, I think this takes precedence over a meeting-“

The nurse glanced at the phone, as it was obvious she had just been hung up on. She adjusted her shirt slightly and made an indignant noise before telling Nico that her mother would be there as fast as she could. Nico groaned and went to lay down on the stiff cots. You would think in a school with tuition higher than an average public school teacher’s salary they could afford some softer cots.

Karolina stared at the clock. Lunch had started fifteen minutes ago. She kept saying that Nico probably had something to do or maybe was held after class by the teacher but with each tick of the minute hand, the excuses became less likely. She pulled out her phone and texted Nico.

K: Did you forget our lunch date?

Karolina watched as the three dots popped up almost immediately. So Nico  _definitely_ wasn’t with a teacher.

N: Calling it a date already? You share one kiss in a 7/11 and suddenly it gets serious

K: well it can’t get serious if you don’t show up

Nico gulped. Karolina seemed pissed. She didn’t know what to tell her. Not the truth obviously. Karolina had seen her earlier so she knew she wasn’t sick, but if she kept it vague she could get away with it.

N: I’m at the nurse. Not feeling well. My mom’s picking me up to go home.

Karolina immediately regretted any harshness she had put in the last sentence.

K: Hope you feel better. Text me later.

“What’s up with the pout, Kar?” Gert asked immediately after sitting down.

Karolina sighed, “Well I was hoping Nico would come sit with us-“ Gert squealed, interrupting Karolina. Karolina paused and Gert nodded at her to continue. “- _but_ she’s not feeling well, so she had to cancel.”

“Sorry, that sucks. You can invite her tomorrow, I’ll be on my best behavior. Scout’s honor,” Gert said innocently.

“Gert, the only thing you know about Girl Scouts is how good Thin Mints are,” Karolina snorted. Gert reached over and slapped her arm.

“Alright, are you gonna tell me what happened last night or not?”

“Well,” Karolina hesitated, “We kissed.” Gert beamed, shooting forward to hug Karolina.

“I KNEW IT! Where’d it happen? Who initiated it? What’d she say? I need all the details!” she exclaimed.

“A 7/11. Me,  _shocking_  I know. And the general vibe afterwards was that she was into it," Karolina answered. 

"A 7/11? Not the best place for a magical first kiss," Gert crumpled her nose in disgust.

"Well it's not like we could find peace and quiet anywhere else," Karolina remarked, chuckling mostly to herself. 

About forty-five minutes after the phone call, Tina Minoru arrived reluctantly to pick up her daughter. When her and Nico got out of the building, she warned, 

"This better be serious. I was in the middle of negotiations."

Nico rolled her eyes. It's not like she wanted this to happen either. At least her mom was so preoccupied with what she could be doing and not asking how it happened. They drove in silence, Nico occasionally wincing from moving slightly and Tina occasionally glancing at Nico when that happened.


End file.
